The present invention relates to a panty-type sanitary napkin or an incontinence guard for women, comprising a front part, a back part and an intermediate crotch part, wherein opposing side parts of the front and back parts are joined together, and which further comprises an elastically stretchable waist border or edge which extends peripherally around the free end-edges of the front and back napkin parts.
The reason why sanitary napkins leak is often because the absorbent body of the napkin is not initially positioned correctly, or because the absorbent body is moved out of its correct position while in use. It is therefore very important that the panty-napkin combination fits well on the wearer, if reliability against leakage is to be achieved. In the case of panty-type sanitary napkins, i.e. panties having an integrated absorbent body, the absorbent body will be positioned correctly when putting on the napkin, provided that the napkin properly fits the wearer. However, the shapes of the bodies of women who use pants-type sanitary napkins vary greatly. For instance, the waist measurements of some wearers will vary while having the same buttock sizes, depending on whether the wearer has a straight figure or a more pronounced female shape with broad hips and a narrow waist. Consequently, it is difficult to produce pants-type sanitary napkins in a model or a size which will ensure a good fit on users of all sizes. Another problem with poorly fitting napkins is that the folds and wrinkles caused by contraction of the elastic in the packaged state of the napkin are not smoothed out when putting on the napkin. These folds and wrinkles can be seen through the overlying garments of thin or slender users, thereby causing the user embarrassment.
The object of the present invention is to solve these problems. This object is achieved in accordance with the invention with a pants-type sanitary napkin or an incontinence guard for women of the kind defined in the introduction which is characterized in that when the napkin is free of load, the waist border will have a greater resistance to stretch in those parts of the border that are located in the side parts than in remaining parts. Thus, those parts of the waist border which have a lower stretch resistance will be stretched first, while those parts which have a greater stretch resistance will only be stretched when necessary. It is therewith possible to ensure a good fit for both users who have a straight figure and those who have broad hips and narrow waists. One advantage afforded in this regard is that fewer models or sizes need be produced in order to accommodate variations in the body shapes of the users while providing a good and snug fit.
According to one preferred embodiment of the pants-type sanitary napkin, the elastic waist border has the form of an elastic band or tape which is fastened while in a stretched state to the free end-edges of the front and back napkin parts. The parts of the elastic band or tape which are located in the side parts of the napkin have a stronger elasticity, or exert a greater elastic strength, than the remainder of the band, and the mutually opposing side edges of the front and back napkin parts are spaced from one another and joined together through band parts of stronger elasticity. The band may advantageously be comprised of a two-layer material which includes one elastic layer and one layer of non-elastic material, said layers being mutually joined in a more sparse bonding pattern in those parts of the band that are located in the side parts of the front and back napkin parts than in the remainder of the band. Alternatively, the band may be comprised of two different materials each having a different elastic strength or degree of elasticity.
According to a second embodiment, the waist elastic is comprised of a plurality of elastic threads which are fastened to the free edges of the front and back napkin parts with the threads in a pre-stretched state, wherein a larger number of threads are mounted in the side parts of the front and back napkin parts than in the remainder of the napkin.
According to a third embodiment of the invention, the side parts of the front and back napkin parts are spaced from on another and mutually joined by means of an elastically stretchable band, while the remainder of the waist border or edge has a much lower degree of elastic stretchability than the elastic stretchability of the band.